501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
76¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 500 volunteers and 33 employees.
Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
0 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $2.7M a year · 55% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 0 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
76%
of spending
Looks good: 76% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.1M
to officers and key staff · 14% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 14% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $2.0M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 2.3 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $56K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$635K
16% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 16% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
14
of 14 voting members
Looks good: 14 of 14 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$5.8M
+51% vs prior year
Spent
$8.1M
To programs
76%
Net assets
$3.4M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$5.8M
FY2024▲ +51%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$5.1M
FY2021$4.3M
FY2022$5.2M
FY2023$4.7M
FY2023$3.8M
FY2024$5.8M
Expenses
$8.1M
FY2024▲ +86%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$8.7M
FY2021$6.4M
FY2022$8.4M
FY2023$7.1M
FY2023$4.4M
FY2024$8.1M
Net assets
$3.4M
FY2024▼ -41%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$16.5M
FY2021$15.2M
FY2022$10.4M
FY2023$6.4M
FY2023$5.7M
FY2024$3.4M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 1991.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

76 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 76% · $6.2M Management & general 24% · $1.9M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

20 people listed on the 990; $1.1M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director & CEO
$270,000Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$220,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Education & Standards
$174,250Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Marketing & Business Development
$164,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Event Operations
$148,625Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Manager of Technical Content
$145,466Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Timothy L Licitra———$137,955$248,319$271,853
Colleen Harper$270,000$262,500$201,923———
Brian S Liebel———$219,104$225,211$236,987
Olga Loukina$220,000$208,808$193,799$169,715$174,096$180,420
Paul P Tarricone—$149,598$195,983$190,113$195,207$189,063
Mark S Lien———$168,289$172,619$175,502
Brienne Willcock$174,250—————
Graham Kirk$164,000$114,731————

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Promotes the science and art of illumination through education, research, and standards development.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $6.2M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Educational Conferences

See schedule o

$2.5Mprogram expense
02

Membership

See schedule o

$1.9Mprogram expense
03

Standards, Education, Technical Committees

See schedule o

$1.7Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2021
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$56K
Grants paid · 6 grants · $433K · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$33,605
Unitemized GrantFY2023$7,102
Unitemized GrantFY2022$157,638
Unitemized GrantFY2021$123,500
Unitemized GrantFY2020$93,000
Unitemized GrantFY2019$18,104

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$5.8M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.4M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.2M
Other incomeLn 4–11$853K
Money outPt IX
$8.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$6.2M
Managementcol C$1.9M
Owns and owesPt X
$3.4M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.5M
Total assetsLn 16$4.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$635K
PeoplePt VI, VII
20
listed · VII A
PaidVII A6
Voting boardVI 1a14
IndependentVI 1b14
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$262K
Other incomeLn 4–11$853K
Gains on assetsLn 7$143K
Total revenueLn 12$5.8M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$164K
SavingsLn 2$1.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$1.5M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.0M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$8K
Total assetsLn 16$4.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$635K
Net assetsLn 32$3.4M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 533
VolunteersI 6500
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.5M$1.5M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$3.7M$2.0M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.6M$8K
Total assetsLn 16$7.3M$4.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.6M$635K
Net assetsLn 32$5.7M$3.4M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$34K$34K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$591K$400K$191K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.5M$1.0M$486K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$50K$33K$17K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$152K$100K$53K
Payroll taxesLn 10$149K$107K$42K
Legal feesLn 11b$91K$91K
Accounting feesLn 11c$33K$33K
Investment management feesLn 11f$18K$18K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$685K$659K$27K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$82K$82K
Office expensesLn 13$175K$148K$27K
OccupancyLn 16$129K$88K$41K
TravelLn 17$274K$142K$133K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$1.5M$1.5M
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$1.6M$1.1M$516K
InsuranceLn 23$53K$53K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$974K$778K$196K
All other expensesLn 24e$13K$13K
Total functional expensesLn 25$8.1M$6.2M$1.9M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $5.8M$8.1M−$2.4M$3.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $4.7M$7.1M−$2.4M$6.4M 990 PDF
FY2022 $5.2M$8.4M−$3.2M$10.4M 990 PDF
FY2021 $4.3M$6.4M−$2.1M$15.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $5.1M$8.7M−$3.6M$16.5M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,751,841 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $693,484$1,244,706
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $2,579,183$3,391,805
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $282,221$261,938
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $266,275$853,392
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $3,821,163$5,751,841
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $7,102$33,605
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $1,342,798$2,464,243
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $3,026,398$5,649,359
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $4,376,298$8,147,207
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$555,135−$2,395,366
Part VI · Governance 14 of 14 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body14
VI-1b Independent voting members14
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,751,841 across 9 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $129,418 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1b Membership dues$1,172,271
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$72,435
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,244,706
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $3,073,909 · Unrelated business $317,896$3,391,805
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $118,573$118,573
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $216,757$216,757
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $143,365$143,365
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $234,722 · Unrelated business $272,495$507,217
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $3,438,049 · Unrelated business $590,391 · Excluded from tax $478,695$5,751,841
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $8,147,207 across 19 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $33,605$33,605
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $399,904 · Management $191,281$591,185
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,036,536 · Management $485,590$1,522,126
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $32,567 · Management $17,194$49,761
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $99,530 · Management $52,546$152,076
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $107,276 · Management $41,819$149,095
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $91,481$91,481
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $32,820$32,820
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $18,382$18,382
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $658,717 · Management $26,586$685,303
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $82,179$82,179
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $147,912 · Management $27,425$175,337
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $87,871 · Management $41,160$129,031
IX-17 TravelPrograms $141,560 · Management $132,683$274,243
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $1,503,554$1,503,554
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $1,101,394 · Management $515,924$1,617,318
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $52,946$52,946
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $777,905 · Management $196,283$974,188
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $12,577$12,577
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $6,223,087 · Management $1,924,120 · Fundraising $0$8,147,207
Part X · Balance sheet $4,012,692 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $341,761$164,164
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $1,196,348$1,372,690
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $196,753$242,849
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $273,483$195,291
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,621,994$7,785
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $3,675,984$2,029,913
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $7,306,323$4,012,692
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $468,529$354,471
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $124,355$280,759
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $987,357$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $1,580,241$635,230
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $4,565,862$2,192,968
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $1,160,220$1,184,494
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $5,726,082$3,377,462
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $7,306,323$4,012,692
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $3,377,462 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$5,751,841
XI-2 Total expenses$8,147,207
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$2,395,366
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$5,726,082
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$46,746
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$3,377,462

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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